Friday, June 28, 2002
Music Industry “Spoofing” MP3 Swapping
Several online swapping services, Morpheus, Kazaa and Grokster have all been experiencing the planting of phony MP3 files to thwart music pirating. This tactic, known as “spoofing” is a temporary solution to a larger problem.
“Sources at three major labels admit they’re deluging popular services like Morpheus, Kazaa and Grokster with thousands of decoy music files that look identical to a sought-after song, but are filled with long minutes of silence—or 30-second loops of a song’s chorus.”
Thursday, June 27, 2002
Software: iPod2iTunes 1.0.3 Released
“Within iTunes or the Finder it is not possible to transfer tracks or playlists from your iPod to your Mac(s). iPod2iTunes (i2i) is the only utility which allows you not only to copy but to synchronize tracks + playlists from your iPod(s) to your Mac(s). The synchronization ensures that you don’t produce duplicate MP3 files on your disk as it is easily the case if you just copy files from the iPod via other methods.”
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What’s new in 1.0.3
- Instructions included: How to clone an iPod.
- Works with AppleScript 1.8.3.
- Other (minor) improvements.
Apple Refurbs Out of Stock
iLounger, Justin K. informs us that the online Apple Store is currently out of stock of all refurbished products, including the iPod 5GB.
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
iPod 5GB for $265 with purchase
DealMac reports:
“MegaMacs.com offers the Apple iPod 5GB MP3 Player for
$264.99 with the purchase of any refurbished Apple computer.
We couldn’t find a lower price for the iPod separately
elsewhere.”
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Software: iPod for Linux
iLounger, “Mr. Flibble”, informs us that a group of individuals at SourceForge.net is developing software for the iPod for use on the Linux OS. It is currently in “pre-Alpha” and no files have been released for public use. If you’re a Linux fan that wants your iPod to work on your Linux box, visit SourceForge.net and show your support.
Hardware: ModPod stand available in Europe
Online retailer, Digitalnoma, has the ModPod stand available for our European friends. The stand is constructed of laser-cut clear lucite and has two clips in the rear for cables. Digitalnoma has it for sale at € 39.95 and you will also find various other iPod accessories available for sale. We recently received our own ModPod stand and will be publishing a review soon.
Monday, June 24, 2002
The iPod Dies and Lives
Gear.IGN.com has a two-part story by M. Wiley telling us about his dead iPod and Apple support experience.
“I eventually found the technical support phone number, which was pretty well hidden, and got through to someone.”
Part one: DiePod
Part two: Vive le iPod!
Software:
XPlay 1.0 Now Available for $29.95
Mediafour has released the much anticipated final version of XPlay, Windows software for the iPod. XPlay costs $29.99 and can be downloaded.
“XPlay brings the power of the ultimate MP3 player to Windows users. Just plug your Apple iPod into your Windows computer, and XPlay makes it easy to load your MP3 music and other files.”
Sunday, June 23, 2002
iPod for Windows
With the eminent release of Mediafour’s XPlay final version on Monday, June 24, we have spotted two different articles announcing the expected XPlay release and speculation that Apple may soon be releasing its own iPod for Windows software.
“We confirmed just this week…that Apple will also introduce a product that ports the iPod to Windows this summer, possibly as early as Macworld New York on July 17,” Wolf wrote. “We have no details on the product. But given Apple’s attention to design and ease-of-use, we think it will be a turnkey product that just works when it’s plugged into a FireWire port.”
News.com: “iPod-Windows link getting stronger”
“‘We won’t close the door on doing a PC version,’ said Greg Joswiak, a director of marketing at Apple.”
Bloomberg.com: “Apple’s iPod, Once Only for Macs, Gets Software for Windows”
